Another NOBX project.

Guy's, what a year it has been. No point reviewing the year that has been, only that it sucks. It has been over a year since I last made a post. I just haven't been in the right frame of mind. I am sorry for this as I really do like to share my thoughts and modelling ideas.

I really like to finish a project before I talk about it, but lately I just haven't been able to finish anything. It is like some barrier or mental block or something. I am just going to have to give updates on where I am at with some projects.

Anyway I have had this project on my mind for a number of years. I have always wanted to take an AR kits NOBX to the next level. A while back I did up 4 NOBX's and reported this in a previous blog. They were as the model intended to be. These were the first batch of BDX's, I think built by Tulloch. I have wanted to build the 2nd version which has quite a different style of under frame. I think these were made by Comeng. Anyway I am sure someone will correct me. These details are not a priority unless I was doing this for a magazine or Convention. The cross members on the second version are the difficult bit. From the following photo's you can see what I mean.

Then the Auscision BDX/NOBX come on the scene.

I got my hands on one of the new Auscision NOBX models. I got it from a member at the Taree and District Model Railway club that was happy to split up a pack. I am not into pre-ordering models anymore and that is a topic I will write about soon. As soon as I got the model home I put it up against my fleet of AR Kits NOBX models to see how it stacked up. Ideally I would of just liked to weather it up and be able to happily mix it up with them. The under frame was real nice. The cross members were done well. The body however was just not as good as the AR version. Photos will tell the story. 

On it's own it is a nice model. The sides on the AR Kits model are just much more crisp. The Sole Bar at the top of the sides just doesn't look right and the half relief tie rails on the side just look too thick. 

My solution to this? Use all the bits done well and mix it up with AR Kits sides. Make the small modifications to the sides needed and make the best of it. Hopefully come up with a model that could be of Competition quality. Next is a photo essay of the process.

First was to separate the Fish Belly chassis which is cast metal alloy. All the cross members are in place. One of the cross members is wrong. on the brake gear side 3 are reduced in size to cater for the brake gear but from the photos I have used for research, the one closest is the same as the ones on the other side. At the end of the day I am not going to worry about this. Being a metal chassis, it is strong so it has opened to opportunity to do the deck with real timber boards. My plan is to have a number of them missing and be able to see clearly some of the under frame through. Maybe not as bad as what is in this photo.

  This is the first version. The center Frame is not as wide on the second version. But the idea is the same. Next is preparing the frame. These photo's explain it a bit better than I can describe,

First Step was to cut a sheet of 5 thou Styrene to the size of an AR Kits underfloor

As AR Kits sides will be used in this project

I pretty much just found the center and glued frame straight to the styrene

I also run some styrene strip around the frame. Not sure of the size ATM but it was just what looked right for the job to meet up with the bolsters and cross members

I then added some C section for the floor supports or what ever they are called?

Next step was to cut out all the holes in the 5 thou Styrene. The Styrene was basically just used as a base to glue all the frame together and is easy to cut away when done.

  

From here the sides are fitted. I have decided to remove the doors on this model so that the floor can be seen easier. I don't see a point in doing all this work and not be able to observe the detail. This model will be a feature in what will be a small country style container yard on my layout. The doors open or removed so that a Fork lift can place the containers into open wagons if needed.

Still some detail to add. Then off to the paint and weathering shop. Then all the scale cut timber deck will be added last

This is all I have for now. 

Enjoy 

Updates soon

Thanks Justin Moy

The New South Wales Diesel Era Modelling Running Day

2019

Hi Guys

It has been a while since I have posted here on Killawarra. It has been a hard year for myself with a few challenges. I won't go into them but I want to talk about the NSWDEM annual running day which was held last Saturday 22nd June 2019. 

Quite some time ago Dave Porter and myself started a Yahoo News Group called New South Wales Diesel Era Modelling. There was quite a few Yahoo Groups dedicated to Railway Modelling but they were not really catering for our needs as modellers and really had some rubbish non related stuff on them. NSWDEM was a private group and kept on focus by the moderators. The theme was NSW modelling 1975 to 1995.

As time went on Aaron Denning come on board and has been one of the main driving forces behind NSWDEM since. Dave and Aaron then carried NSWDEM over to Facebook and it has grown since with at last check 646 members. There is a great pool of knowledge on the group with member always happy to share tips and tricks with plenty of Q&A.

This brings us to the running day. A social gathering of members mostly organised by Aaron Denning. From memory this is a fourth annual run day which has been kindly hosted by the Epping Model Railway Club. The club providing the venue, a couple of exhibition layouts to run our trains on and a sausage sizzle for lunch. The door entry of $10.00 would go to the club for kindly offering their facilities for the day. 

This year was a little different as we had an invited layout visiting called Stockinbingal from Wagga. The club also provided their layout Binalong which has featured at all the run days and has been a favourite with the Up line being DC and the down line DCC.  Everyone could run on it. Stockinbingal was only DC so some members couldn't run on it. Over the day we had around 60 members come and enjoy the atmosphere.

A couple of other features for the day was a room setup for watching DVDs from our era of modelling and the Raffle. The Raffle has grown to quite a thing. Mostly thanks to the work of Aaron Denning. At the Rose Hill show a couple of weeks earlier Aaron went around to many of the retailers/producers and mustered up a number of raffle prizes for the run day. It has got to the point where there is basically a raffle prize for everyone that attends no matter how small it may be. This year it ranged from a 70 class, Pay Bus, packs of rollingstock, books, magazine subscriptions down to a container or small detail part. A very good effort on the part of Aaron and the sponsors of all this great stuff.

This photo by Aaron shows this years prize pool. All the big names in Australian modelling are there. Auscison/SDS/OTM/IDR/IFM/Austrains/SJM/KRM to name a few

This year I placed one of my models into the Raffle Prize Pool. This SDS NRY that I weathered up. Something a little different this year. I come away with an SDS NVJA, so I was pretty happy with that.

The next lot of photos, Aaron Denning has download directly the NSWDEM. He has given me permission to use them here in my Blog

The guys watching Video footage taken by members back in the day

Stockinbingal in Action

A short wheat train sitting in the up refuge at Binalong

A spoil train coming into Stockinbingal

The staging yard for Binalong

The tables set up between the layouts to help set up trains

Secret Men's Business

A X200 lost

A short Ballast sitting in the down refuge at Binalong

I really did enjoy the day. I spent most of my time running on Stockinbingal, talking to Rodney Smith who bought the layout to the run day. Rodney also by chance won the NRY that I weathered in the raffle, so I was please with that. One thing that I did note was a few of our model producers were on site enjoying themselves. Steve Pracy from SDS was there, he also helped greatly with the event by paying for the hall hire for the day so the Epping club wouldn't have to. He also was behind Stockinbingal being on hand. I noted also Craig Hill from OTM's. Ian Ratcliffe from IDR. Keiran Ryan from KRM and of coarse Aaron Denning from IFM's. If there was others I just cannot think of them for now. It was great having them there as plenty of ideas etc could be bounced around and they could see their wares in action. 

Here is some more of Aarons photos showing some of the models on show

Not sure of the owner for this one. Looks like an Auscision 421 with an OTM's MUB set

A nicely weathered SDS Gas Tanker

Scratch/kitbashed EPT I think

One of mine. Auscision WBAX a little dirty

Allan Browns Table of Knowledge

Something Allan has been working on.

A couple of my iPhone shots

My Austrain's 8173 with Brendan Grace's Trainorama 4446 in the back ground

That same train coming into Stockinbingal

Departing Stockinbingal

This is the photo I used for the cover/intro. before editing

Same train, different locos. Trainorama 4491/4473 head out Stockinbingal

All I can say is a big thanks to everyone who helped to make this day happen. It's what its about.

Till next time

Cheers Justin Moy